Friday, August 31, 2012

Loner Summits Mt. Washington

Loner climbed Mt. Washington on August 29th, Weather conditions around 10:30 am were 39 degrees, 40 mph winds and 19 chill factor. I'm glad he took a zero day, the day before because of the weather which was 35 in the morning, 60 mile an hour winds, sleeting and foggy. He said the summit was really crowded with folks who had come up on the cog railway and other hikers besides thru hikers. Not his scene. He left the summit about 2:00 pm and hammock hanged somewhere on the hike the down. At the height of Mt. Washington, famous of it's Cog Railway, Loner has only 332 miles to go to Katadhin.
He climbed 16 mountains in New Hampshire including Lincoln, Lafayette, Webster, Pierce, Franklin, - most of them at elevations of 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 with Mt. Washington at 6,288.
He only has nine to ten more Mts to climb in New Hampshire, finishing up with Mt Success and then he can trudge to Gorham, NH either today or tomorrow where a hotel room is waiting for him.
Here's an even better internet site on Mt. Washington turbulent weather, The Mt. Washington Weather Center, Their slogan says it all "Home of the World's Worst Weather"! I think this website is better than the one I listed in a previous post. It has constantly updated info, since the weather on Mt. Washington can change rapidly, wind velocities have been clocked at 249 mph, and temperatures can drop even in the summer from 40 to 50 degrees compared to the valley. And the lowest recorded temperature for the summit in august has been a freezing 20 degrees! I'm glad he packed his winter gear.
I'm glad Jeff's already hiked Mt Washington, but he probably will still be affected by this weather front on the other mountains he's facing, The temps are dropping and the wind chill even more and there will be thunderstorms with sleet and large hail due to a Canadian low pressure system and a cold front coming. That's makes for some cold and slippery hiking. He's had a few rainy days already this week so that shower and warm bed at Gorham will be a welcome rest before he makes his start through his final state.
Wow. The last state - it's mind boggling to even think of him walking this many miles. I just can't even imagine the energy and motivation it takes for these hiker to pull this off, a journey they will never ever forget and which will transform them for the rest of their lives.

About Me

Gail Gray, a transplant from Lowell, Mass, now lives in Greenville, SC, USA. She is an artist and especially loves the paper arts, book making, altered books, beeswax collage, painting and sketching. She uses vintage, shabby chic, and steampunk themes and loves working with found objects.